Hall of Fame Inductees
Jim “Moose” Carrier lettered in three sports at Wesleyan: track & field, wrestling, and most prominently, football. A New Jersey native, he was a business major and a member of Chi Psi and Skull & Serpent.
During his time on the Carinal track & field squad led by Coach J. Fred Martin, Jim competed in javelin, discus, and shot put and set program records in all three events. At the same time, under Coach Norm Daniels, Jim was a stalwart wrestler in the heavyweight category.
Jim, known as “Moose” to his teammates, really excelled at football. In a four-year career on campus, he started all 24 games. He was elected as a team captain in his junior year, under Coach Jack Blott, and in his senior year, with Coach Wesley Fesler. Moose rushed for 12 career touchdowns, passed for 22, converted 35 points-after-touchdowns (PATs), and in all scored or contributed to 242 points for the Red & Black. In 1939 he led Wesleyan to a Little Three Championship.
Moose also amassed a raft of individual football honors. He won Wesleyan’s C. Everett Bacon MVP Award in both his junior and senior years, while also being chosen for the Hartford Courant All-State Small College teams. As a senior he won a spot on the Courant All-State Connecticut (all divisions) Team and the Little All-American Team. In 1941 he also started in the all-star Blue-Grey Football Classic, held in Montgomery, Alabama.
Jim Carrier was recruited to play professional football by several teams, including the New York Giants, Cleveland Rams, and Philadelphia Eagles. However, he chose a business career and spent a number of years with the Gulf West Financial Corporation. Jim passed away at his home in Florida in 2004 at the age of 84.
